First Case, New Partner
by Ziggurat Rolsovitch
Summary: No Summary.


Disclaimer; (sighs) Once again I DON'T own the X-Files.

XxXxX 

After her first case with Fox Mulder, she had confirmed he was indeed, crazy. She didn't know why she had chosen to stay anyway though. She stared at the clock that said 11:21. This slowly changed to 11:22. She heard the phone ring and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Scully it's me. I haven't been able to sleep." She knew Mulder's soft drawl. "I talked to the D.A.'s Office in Raymond County, Oregon.  
There's no case file on Billy Miles. The paper work we filed is gone." Silence for a few moments, then. "We need to talk, Scully." She recognized the way he spoke. He believed _she _had something to do with the paper work going missing. She was shocked he thought that.

"Y-yes… tomorrow." She hung up on him and laid her head back down staring again at the clock, which had slowly changed again to 11:23. The phone rang again. "What?" She asked.

"Scully, I'm not kidding. Not tomorrow. Now." He stated firmly.

"Who is calling at this time?" Her boyfriend Ethan asked sleepily. (A/N if you watch the deleted scenes for the pilot then you'll know what I mean) She covered the end of the phone with her hand so Mulder wouldn't hear.

"My partner. It's about work." She told him.

"God…." He groaned. "Threaten him with the funny farm or something."

"Who's that?" Mulder asked. How the hell had he heard that?

"No… just… I'll come down to the office and we'll talk. Okay?" There was a moment's hesitation.

"I'm not at the office. I'm at my apartment." She heard a quiet pained groan. She wondered if he'd just gotten himself hurt again.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." He answered quickly. "Never mind. It can wait until tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" She didn't get an answer. He had hung up.

"Dana, what the hell was that all about?" Ethan asked, with annoyance.

"It looks like our plans for dinner are canceled. I have to meet my partner tomorrow."

"What? That such a load of bull. Turn him in or something. He's your partner not your boss."

"I can't. I have to talk to him." She stated simply. "Go back to sleep."

XxXxX

But as it turned out Mulder hadn't met her like they had arranged and it irritated her that she had to cancel everything and not actually have to work. Why had he done that? She wondered. Maybe revenge for her spying on him. She didn't know.  
But when she was called up things weren't what she expected.

"Agent Scully, have you seen your partner?" Blevins asked.

"No, sir."

"I see. Do you know where he might have gone?"

"No, sir." She said, trying to keep her cool. "Is something wrong that I should know about?"

"He didn't show up for work today and he didn't call in."

"Maybe he's sick." She then noticed the Smoking man in the corner and Blevins glance at each other briefly, before Blevins turn his attention back to her.

"Agent Mulder has a tendency to… disappear for certain amounts of time. I'm not sure you were aware of it, but next time please _try _to keep track of him _Agent _Scully."

"No, sir I was not aware of that, but maybe if you had informed me I could have _known _he would be up to something like this." She was angry that they had expected her to watch him and know where he was every second of the day. That wasn't her job.

XxXxX

Later she had the idea to give Mulder a piece of her mind. She went to his apartment and knocked, but got no answer. She was about to leave, when the door opened partway. She could only see half his face as he hid behind the door.

"Uh, Scully?" His voice sounded rough.

"Agent Mulder… what are you doing? You didn't go to work and you didn't even call in and _I _was the one who got called on it."

"Well I'm sorry I inconvenience you." He said bitterly.

"You wanted to talk. I'm here now so lets get it over with."

"Now's not a good time."

"Why not?"

"'Cause…" He drawled, but not giving her a reason.

"Come on." She sighed and he rolled his eyes and then opened the door all the way. When she came in he closed the door behind her, making sure she hadn't been followed. She watched his foolish reactions.  
He didn't seem to understand the world wasn't out to get him, that it was just in his head. He backed from the door, keeping his arm over his stomach.  
"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"You're sick." She said. She took the few steps needed closer to him and felt his head. He had a fever, hell she could see that he had a fever. His hair was drenched with sweat. "You need to lie down."

"I don't need to do anything. I need to get to work."

"No. you're not." She said firmly. "You're probable sick from being out in all that rain."

"Oh." He groaned and leaned against the wall. He held his hand up when she went to help him. "It's fine. I've just haven't been able to keep anything down. I think I'm gonna lose my lunch again." He swallowed hard as the dark took over.  
She gasped as he blacked out and hit the floor with a thud. This was not good.  
It didn't seem like that long until he woke up and blinked back the fuzziness in his eyes. He saw her sitting in the chair across from him. How the hell had she gotten him on the couch? Didn't matter.

"Why are you taking care of me?" Was his only question as he fought back the urge to throw up whatever it was he had last eaten.

"Because you're sick."

"I know that, I meant why?"

"What was I suppose to do? Leave you there?"

"Actually I know a lot of people who would have."

"Well I'm not one of them."

"I see…" He blinked and got tired again. "I hope I still have pants on under here."

"Does the term sexual harassment mean anything to you?"

"Not really, no. I don't think the FBI cares about me anyway."

"I'm sure m-"

"Too bad." He said trying to sound disappointed now.

"I need to get going, but…" She sighed. "call me if you need anything."

"Whatever."

"I'm serious, Mulder. This could develop into something much more sever. If it gets worse then go to the hospital."

"Fine, fine." He finally sighed.

XXXX

Two days later she found Mulder in the office. He didn't seem to be doing anything, really. He was just sitting there, staring at a paper on his desk, just like he had been for the last half hour. It shouldn't take that long to read one piece of paper.  
Finally he looked up at her with a sigh.

"Scully?"

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Would you like to go out to dinner with me?" He gulped as she hesitated.

"Mulder… I have a boyfriend."

"Oh," He said and paused. "Well, where's the harm in a friendly dinner?"

"I don't know…" She answered slowly.

"Unless of course he's the jealous type." That had hit a nerve and she was dead serious to prove him wrong.

"Fine." She said innocently. "What time?"

"Seven."

"I'll be there."

"Great." He grinned triumphantly. He was smugly satisfied he could get her to go out with him anyway.

XXXX

"So who's this boyfriend anyway? Someone I know?" They were sitting down at a nice little place.

"You know him." She confirmed. "His names Ethan-"

"Ohh… the news guy right?"

"That's the one."

"So… how did you meet him?"

"I don't think-"

"No. I'm honestly curious." Mulder said totally innocent like.

"Well… actually we met at a carnival. I don't know. He was covering it and I just happened to run into him. He asked me out and the rest is as they say history."

"Hmm." His elbow was on the table and his hand supporting his chin, covering his mouth. His body language told her he was hiding something.

"You don't have a girlfriend, Mulder?"

"Hm? Oh, no." He said absently, staring at her then at the table. "I don't uh… have much luck with woman."

"Why not? I'm sure you get plenty of offers."

"Only for…" He sighed and waved his free hand in the air. "pleasurable means. Not for a relationship."

"Isn't that all men's dream?" She asked.

"Umm… is that what you women think?"

"Only because it's true about most."

"True. Most, but not all."

"You're not as bad as everyone says you are."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I think you're a pleasure to be around."

"Thank you, but that won't be the case. Eventually you'll be tired of me and get reassigned. That's the way it works without fail."

"There's a first time for everything."

"Maybe." He answered. "Now if only I could figure out what you were sent to do when you were assigned to me."

"It's not like that."

"Oh, I know. They roped you into it." He knew it was true as she was silent. He twisted his jaw to one side before he looked down at the table. "I only told you, because I feel like I can trust you. I-I hope… that I'm right."

"You can trust me."

"I believe you." He said honestly. "Actually. Now… I think I could trust you… if you striped and ran through the bosses offices."

He hadn't even flinched like he was going to laugh. She stared at him for a few minutes, he simply had a blank expression.

"You're kidding me right?" She asked seriously. Then she saw the slow smile he gave. "Oh, don't do that!"

"It was funny. You should have seen the look on your face."

"It wasn't funny."

"It was." He argued. So that was the argument for the rest of the night. Not serious, just a little banter.

XxXxX

It was very late by the time they got back from dinner. Well… not that late, but it was still late as he pulled the car up to her apartment.

"Oh." She remarked softly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She sighed. "Just…"

"Yes?" He asked freezing as he was about to open the door.

"It's just that Ethan isn't home, yet. He always does this late thing."

"Do you want me to wait with you?"

"Oh, no. That won't be necessary."

"Okay." He answered suspiciously. He got out and opened the door for her, and led her into her apartment. She stopped at the door and turned, finding him close behind.

"Thanks, Mulder. I needed the time off."

"Um-hm." He breathed and kissed her. She gasped in shock at first, but then kissed him back, pushing her hands under his shirt.  
Realization struck her that she shouldn't be doing this and she pushed back hard against his chest. "I'm sorry." He apologized quickly.

"J-just forget." She opened the door and slammed it in his face.

"You stupid son of a..." He swore at himself. He hadn't meant to do it. It just happened and now he was kicking himself mentally.

Gasping at herself she wondered why he had kissed her and especially why she had kissed him back. She had a boyfriend she should have known better.  
But she had known better. So why had she done it? She didn't know.

XxXxX

"We need to talk." Scully said dropping a heavy file on Mulder's desk. It made him look up from the file he had been studying.  
He was dressed in the usual suit, white with light blue stripes and an alien tie, unlike last night when he had dressed casual. Which was the first time she really saw him like that.  
He took his glasses off and set them aside, nodding.

"I know. I'm sorry. I hadn't intended on… what happened… to… ya' know. Happen." He stood up then. "Look... I really am sorry."

"I can't accept that." He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again and set his hands on his hips, sighing slowly.

"Then what can I say?"

"I don't need you to say anything." She said. "Okay, okay… I-I know you're sorry. We just can't… let this happen again. Agreed?"

"Yeah, yeah. Agreed. It won't happen again."

"Won't happen again."

"Nope." He said again. Next thing they knew they were both in an awkward situation of once again, making out. She was in between him and the desk, running her fingers through his thick, dark hair, feeling his grin against her lips.  
She pushed him back again.

"Mulder!" She scolded sharply. She knew exactly what he was doing, but this was certainly not something that should be happening.  
He stepped back and ran a hand back through his hair, with a sigh.

"What?" He asked in a manner that irritated her to no end.

"Just… forget it. I need to go."

"Ah, shit. I didn't mean it." He said, but as she stared at him wide eyed. "Okay… so I meant it." He only smiled. She groaned in frustration and left the office.

XxXxX

She was still forced to work with him even after that, but he kept his promise and stayed to himself. Mostly.  
She was standing glancing at a paper, to which Mulder apparently found interesting and stood behind her. Not close enough to be touching, but enough so she felt his presence. He usual did this, but he stayed behind the line she drew.  
She felt his breath against her, making a chill run down her spine. With a sigh she turned, setting her hands against his chest and putting a little distance between them.

"I need to get home. I'm late for a date with Ethan." She told him as she walked to the door. "Goodnight."

"And sweet dreams?" He asked quietly.

"Don't you mean sweet fantasies?" She asked snidely and his smile disappeared. She left the office before he could reply.  
XxXxX

She made it home to get some rest. She dropped her coat on the chair in the kitchen and went into the bathroom to ran a bath, grabbed a glass of wine and got ready to relax.  
Ethan was on assignment in Virginia for a week, but Mulder didn't need to know that much.  
Just as long as he stayed off her case about it.

XxXxX

He didn't know why he did it. Well… he knew part of it was to make sure she was safe, because her boyfriend was never home and she had no one to protect her.  
Ah, hell… she'd kill him if she knew he thought she needed to be protected, but he couldn't help himself.  
Another reason was… well… he was a crazy man. He watched, seeing her make it home. He saw the lights go on and relaxed fully when he saw nobody else there with her.  
He had no idea why he was so worried about her being alone, but he was.

Maybe it was just because he was one sick puppy and needed to be sure Ethan wasn't there, but no. he needed her to be okay.  
She was his partner and he had to protect her. There was something wrong with him alright. He would stand close, purposely invading her personal space just because he wanted to be close to her.  
But really he desperately wanted to know what it would be like to be with her. To just be able to touch her. He really wished she didn't have a boyfriend. It really pissed him off even though he didn't really have that right.  
Damn what the hell is wrong with me? He wondered silently to himself. He yawned then and let his seat back, not able to stay awake any longer.

XxXxX

The second she walked through the door Mulder had a case, although not by his own choosing. Skinner had assigned them to it and she knew he wasn't very happy.  
It didn't really matter, because he had no say in it.

XxXxX

She got home at a reasonable hour, only because Mulder didn't want to do paper work on the case. She just got through the door when Ethan got back and stared at her for a moment, before sighing.

"Let me guess. Rough week?" She asked.

"Very, very, rough week. Lets not talk about it." He said as he left the room.

She was a little surprised at the fact that Ethan didn't want to talk. He usually did.  
No, no. it wasn't what she thought. But she decided she needed air.  
She leaned against the side of the building outside.  
Then she noticed the car. She knew damn well who's car it was. That bastard. She thought she as stormed over and jerked the door open, pulling him out roughly by the tie.

"Hey! Scully, no fair." He complained.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I-I…" He sighed then. Time to come clean. "I was making sure you made it home okay."

"Making sure? I don't need your protection." She met his eyes. "And spying on me right?"

"Well… yeah. So? You're spying on me."

"I'm not-"

"Lair." He stated simply.

"You're an ass."

"That's me."

"You know what? It's right what they say about you. You are spooky."

"Ouch." He said sarcastically. "You think your opinion matters to me? I've heard it enough for it to not make a difference anyways."

"Why are you doing this?" She asked and pushed hard against his chest, shoving him into the car, but only because he was caught off guard. Other wise she wouldn't have been able to move him. "What do you want from me?"

"I don't want anything."

"Then leave." She turned, but he grabbed her arm, firmly, yet softly.

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry. Really. I am." he held his hands up in surrender as he backed up and got in his car. Leaving.

XxXxX

Two days later…  
The knock at the door startled her, but she sighed and got up to answer it, wearily.

"Ethan, I thought I told you too-" She paused then and sighed again. "Mulder."

"What?" He looked confused now.

"Sorry… I just thought… never mind. It's nothing." She finally looked up at him, seeing the black and blue bruise by his eye. "What happened to you?"

"What, what? This?" He asked, rubbing the bruise gingerly. "Nothing. it's nothing."

"No, really."

"I-I got hit by a suspect. I-it's nothing, really." He said honestly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Umm… anyway… I was here to see how things were…"

"I'm fine, but why don't you come in and sit down." She said, now was her chance. He walked in and hesitantly sat down on the couch and she stood in front of him with her arms crossed.

"A-anyway. We do have a case… I was hoping you'd go with me?"

"Go with you?" She asked.

"Y-yeah." He said and waited a moment. "No?"

"I'll go. It's just a little surprising."

"Will you be okay working with me after I spied on you?"

"Of course." She answered. She was still mad he could tell, but she hid it.

"Okay," He nodded slowly. "Let's go."

XxXxX

He had just unpacked his bags when he heard the door open and looked up to see his partner there. And with luck she didn't really look mad.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"No. I just brought the case file over to look at with you." She answered a little wearily. He stared at her for a few minutes, concern clear in his eyes. She knew he was honestly concerned, but it didn't help the way she felt.  
Finally she sat down on the bed and he sat next to her as she opened the file, she felt his breath on her though. He always sat so close, his shoulder touched hers.

"You didn't come in here for the file." He said quietly. "So what's the matter?"

"It's nothing, Mulder. Just leave it alone."

"I don't want to." He said, a small smile appearing as he leaned into her and bumped his shoulder with hers. "Come on."

"No."

"Come on." He whined.

"It's…." She sighed then. "I broke up with Ethan."

"Why?"

"I don't know… it was just… we never saw each other and when we did… we didn't talk."

"Ohh." He breathed quietly. Thinking for a few moments. "So… you think that maybe… I'd have a chance?"

"What are you asking me?"

"I think… you already know what I'm asking you. No pressure. I'm just asking."

"Mulder… you really are incorrigible aren't you?"

"Sure I am. Now let's finish this file." He set his focus on it and after a few seconds she kissed him. "Is that a 'yes'?"

"Hmmm…" She pretended to think about it and he smiled. "I think you might."  
He leaned into her as they returned their attention to the file.  
She had known the case was unimportant and just a ploy to get her to talk to him, because he would do anything to get his apology through so she would accept it.  
She'd give him hell for it later.

XxXxX

THE END

Thanks for reading, leave a review.

Okay, okay... also I DO NOT approve of cheating, but this is Mulder and Scully and they are meant to be togther.


End file.
